Business processes and workflows are typically managed using multiple forms of communications and organization. For example, e-mail is commonly used to inform individuals associated with a business workflow of the occurrence of important events and required actions. In other instances the communications are verbal. Project management software is used to specify the various steps, or tasks, to be performed and to track the completion of these steps. Workflow software packages exist but are not integrated with the user's e-mail, other software or the user's Workplace. No common form of workflow management exists that centralizes, stores and tracks all communications for practical oversight of the workflow.
When a problem arises with a workflow, a typical response includes contacting individuals responsible for different tasks to determine details of the problem, to determine what actions are being taken to correct the problem and to determine what activity preceded and/or caused the problem. Individuals responsible for the workflow or a step or task in the workflow may review numerous written communications, such as status reports and e-mails, to find relevant information. In some instances the audit process may prove fruitless as there may not be any recorded information that relates to the problem. In other instances it can be difficult to determine who performed a step and when the step was performed.
Weblogs can be used to track the status of a workflow and serve as an easily accessible central repository for all workflow-related materials such as posts, comments, data, documents, links and the like. Currently, users are limited in their ability to compare, contrast and search instances of workflow processes. Existing weblog searches are generally limited to determining keyword frequency over a large number of weblogs but are not useful in comparing and contrasting information between weblogs. Moreover, typical database queries result in lists of monochromatic data. As more processes are automated, access and management of prior workflow processes becomes more difficult.
What is needed is a method for users to isolate, contrast and relate the characteristics of individual workflows or workflow instances in a group of workflows or workflow instances. The present invention satisfies this need and provides additional advantages.